REDEEMER'S STAINED GLASS REVEALED
Redeemer's stained glass windows have been an inspirational and awe inspiring sight for Redeemer members, Christians, neighbors and art enthusiasts since the original installation in 1949 and continuing with later installations into the 1990s. The church building remains a familiar landmark in southeast Houston and provides a traditional setting for the religious glass artworks. The designs in the windows are produced by painting the symbols on opaque glass and then firing the glass to set the designs.
A review of liturgical colors is necessary before explaining the windows' symbolism. Four colors, along with white and black, are widely used, but numerous variations appear:
White: The color of perfection, perfect glory, beauty, holiness, and joy is used for great festival days of the year.
Red: The color of fire, blood, fervor. It is used for days that mark the great events of the life of the church, and for commemoration of apostles and martyrs who have made the great confession and sacrifice.
Green: The color of abiding life, peace, nourishment, rest. It is continually used in longer teachings and for all seasons.
Violet: The color of royal mourning is used for periods of preparation and patience.
Gold: The color of eternity.
Black: The color of the depths of woe, sorrow, utter darkness. It finds but two
days of use during the church year, Good Friday and when the church calls for humiliation prayer.
There is a basis in nature for the colors that are prescribed. All color variations are derived from those in the color spectrum: red, blue, green, and yellow [note the solid color panels throughout the nave]. White is without hue and reflects all light, and is opposite black, which lacks hue and brightness, absorbing all light.
An observation of the stained glass begins with the window over the altar, proceeds with the window panels on the right side of the nave, and continues on the left side of the nave up the aisle to the chancel. The windows in the narthex and bell tower complete the tour.
Our largest stained glass window measures thirteen feet high by seven feet wide. It is possible that is was designed by church members, while the glass was fabricated by Texas Art Glass Company, and the wooden frame was donated by Alexander-Schroeder Lumber Company. It is the central sight line of the structure and recalls the expertise of old-world craft. The gothic window depicts Christ the Redeemer giving benediction to His people. The central magnetism is the full-length likeness of Christ with open hands, indicating an outpouring of blessing to the sincere worshipper. The tunic is white, the sash around the waist purple, and the outer robe red. The wide border around the robe's edge is gold. The red rose at Christ's feet is the symbol of the messianic promise.
At the top left of the window are tablets with Roman numerals that represent the ten laws given to Moses by God. To the right of the tablets is the open Bible, the source of God's blessing to man, and Christ's redemption and love. Through the Word, we know the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit. With the tablets and Bible, we have law and gospel-divine law to convict a person of sin, and the Gospel to bring comfort and forgiveness following a conviction of sin. At the middle left of the window is the baptismal font, which represents new life, new birth, and is one of our two sacraments. The chalice, at the middle far right, represents the Lord's Supper, and is symbolic of our other sacrament. With the depiction of Christ and the other symbols, we have the definition of the Church: "The Church is where the word of God is rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered."
